12:55pm: The Wizards have officially announced in a press release that they won’t extend Brooks’ contract and that they’ll immediately begin the search for a new head coach.
“We have been committed to taking the proper steps over the last two seasons to develop our young players, bring in pieces to complement Bradley Beal and build a winning environment that will ultimately lead to sustained on-court success,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said in a statement. “Our organization will always be grateful to Scott for his dedication and work both on the court and in the community over the past five years and I personally admire and respect how he helped keep our team together during the unprecedented events of the last 15 months.”
10:29am: The Wizards and Scott Brooks couldn’t reach an agreement on a new contract for the veteran head coach and have agreed to part ways, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Brooks’ deal with Washington expired at the end of the 2020/21 season.
Brooks, formerly the coach of the Thunder, joined Washington ahead of the 2016/17 campaign and led the team to a 49-33 regular season record in his first season. That team came within one game of earning a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals, but Brooks’ squads took a step backward in subsequent years, compiling a 134-174 record (.435) over the next four seasons.
Halfway through this season, it seemed Brooks might become the first coach fired in 2021, perhaps even before the regular season ended. The Wizards had a 17-32 record and looked dead in the water, far removed from the playoff picture. However, a second-half surge saw the Wizards finish the season on a 17-6 run, earning them a play-in spot, which they parlayed into a playoff berth.
The late-season run – along with endorsements from Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal – helped convince the Wizards to seriously consider extending their relationship with Brooks — both Wojnarowski and Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link) suggest ownership was discussing the possibility of a new deal. However, the two sides weren’t able to agree to terms and the club will now be in the market for a new head coach.
The Wizards are the sixth team to launch a head coaching search this offseason, joining the Celtics, Pacers, Magic, Trail Blazers, and Pelicans. Now a free agent, Brooks could emerge as a candidate for one of those other jobs, though there has been no reporting linking him to any of them yet.
As for Brooks’ replacement in D.C., no frontrunners have been identified so far, but it seems like a safe bet that Westbrook and especially Beal will have a voice in the club’s hiring process.
This is a wise move. But will Washington go full rebuild. Or try it again. They could get lucky in draft. They want to get rid of Westbrook. Cheap, Knicks should look into it. He can fit our team.
I mean they can pretty much guarantee 4 firsts for Beal from several teams. That’s not a bad starting point unless you’re the Celtics and do nothing w those picks.
Westbrick could probably stay and just be a steward til that contract runs out and rack up more triple doubles.
The Bertans contract is bad, not sure they can dump that one unless they take less from a team for Beal.
Celtics drafted Tatum and Brown with those picks
I am sure you are familiar with the Tatum draft year….
Are they getting draft picks from a lottery team or a playoff team? They don’t have a great track record outside of the top-3 except for Smart at 6.
The knix have enough problems to solve. Why add another one to the pile? Don’t chase an overpaid Star, stay in your lane and continue the surprising rebuild
Major pass on Westbrook to the Knicks. The Knicks are still rebuilding and an aging and declining Westbrook eating up $90 million in cap space over the next two seasons doesn’t make any sense unless the Wizards attach multiple firsts to him (which they won’t).
The Knicks surprise playoff appearance doesn’t change the fact that they’re still rebuilding from the ground up. They’re not close to being contenders and adding Westbrook would not change that. Just an honest assessment from a fellow Knick fan.
Neutral, but Rose should try some PG upgrade, to avoid a “sophomore” slump.
Dinwiddie is more of a builder though, and cheaper.
I can’t imagine why a Knicks fan would want Russ unless they’re having trouble selling tickets in NY. Or maybe fans at MSG want to dump more popcorn on him like that guy in Philly did.
Damn. Looks like the Grand Master’s time has come, but there is still a chance he can continue his undisputed reign, and he still coaches this year
I’m surprised there’s no mention in this article of Brooks filling one of the other vacancies. He had an excellent run in OKC. He didn’t have enough talent in WAS.
It did actually..
Brooks won’t be unemployed very long. He’s not an elite coach, but he’s experienced and a safe choice.
My guess is that he lands in Boston. Stevens has said nice things about him in the past, and Brooks was very complimentary of Tatum not even a month ago.
No way he gets the Boston job.
I was complimentary of Tatum just two weeks ago… maybe I’LL get it!!
I would pick you over Brooks for sure.
Maybe the Bucks after they fire Bud.
Just when we thought we knew all the ways to NOT say the coach was fired…
“They offered a 1-year/$2.50 (two dollars and 50 cent) plus per díem and the sides couldn’t come to an agreement and decided to part ways…”
This one seems like a job for Chauncey Billups or Imé Udoka.
Good decision. Like many NBA HCs, he’s more front man than actual basketball coach. Wiz can’t really afford that with a borderline playoff roster and an aversion to rebuilding. They could have put it off based on the unusual season, but I think smartly chose to move on now.
He is headed to Nawlins.
And now Calipari wants to return
Cassell, Billups, Mark Jackson, and possibly Kenny Smith will hopefully get considered. I would even say JVG but I doubt he wants to leave his easy TV job.
I sense a trend there.
Cal’s not going anywhere.
Brooks couldn’t win with a talented team in OKC. The only reason he got the job in Washington was to lure KD to Washington and it didn’t work. He never has been a good head coach.
Brooks wasn’t the problem in OKC, and he wasn’t the problem in Washington either. The Thunder didn’t get better after he left and neither will the Wizards.
Mark jackson
I mean wizards aren’t elite but they will not go full rebuild
They have Westbrook, Beal, Hachi, bryant (returning), gafford, bertans….
There’s enough you can do something with
They need SF, wing defenders, and shooting
Like many teams lol
You sure Bradley Beal wants to stay there by signing a new contract?